Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 199,340 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 148.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 334,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 199,340 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $80,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of TRV. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Travelers Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Travelers Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Travelers Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Travelers Companies in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Travelers Companies in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on TRV. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $278.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $286.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. HSBC raised shares of Travelers Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $268.00 target price (down from $273.00) on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.05.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRV opened at $261.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.60. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.21 and a 52-week high of $269.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $247.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.64.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $2.65. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 19.06% and a net margin of 10.77%. The company had revenue of $12.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.56%.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.